I made it

We'll, I've faced down my fears and made it from one side of Tokyo to the other and back again - on my own. A total of seven trains and about three hours of travel.

The journey there was smoooooth, I made all the changes with no problems. I shared my journey with thousands of other Tokyo-ites, a little too closely at times, but at least I had room to put my feet and wasn't a victim of "polite pushers". However, I didn't feel as though I had room to freely exhale until about 45 minutes into my journey.

The journey back was a tiny bit more problematic, but nothing that a little bit of map and sign reading couldn't overcome. Probably my closest call was when the train totally emptied out (see picture) and I didn't realise that this was the last stop of the train - merely two stations before my destination. Sorry the photo is blurry - as I took it an official person came running through urgently and politely tossing me off the train!

I think what has made it possible to do today, what I couldn't have done five years ago is that I've learned some of my local geography - most especially the names of some of the key stations along my journey. So I therefore could figure out whether I was getting on the right train, for example. 

I'm still a little dodgy on all the variety of trains that they have - local, commuter express, semi-express, rapid express, limited express and even a commuter semi-express! Each with their own complex Japanese characters. If you're lucky you'll spot an English equivalent, but this still doesn't tell you if the train will stop at "your" station. To find that out you have to search for a wonderful bar-type graph with spots that tell you which station which type of train stops at on this line. Fantastic stuff!

All that aside, though. I think I have this route sorted! Which is good, because on Wednesday I have to do it again (actually only 2/3 of it). It is also one of the most direct routes to our mission's Japan headquarters where I go, on average, once a month. Often I can get a lift or have a travel partner, but it is good to know that I can manage on my own if I need to!

Tomorrow, the day I've successfully avoided for five years.

Tomorrow comes the day I've tried to avoid for many years. I knew it was inevitable that, living in Tokyo, I'd one day have to face the trains on my own. I wrote a little about it here.

I've become comfortable in getting to close-by stations, but tomorrow I have to get myself across the metropolis of Tokyo via four trains and a couple of big, crowded stations. 

So if you don't hear from me tomorrow, it is because I got lost in the spaghetti that is the Tokyo train system. But hopefully I'll make it home in time to pick up my sons from school.

Encouragement for my soul

Wow, here's some encouragement for my soul and maybe yours too.

It is from an article by Jill Briscoe, executive editor of the magazine Just Between Us. She refers to an incident on 9/11 when she was stuck, with several plane-loads of people in Newfoundland when air traffic was suspended. They got hungry and she remembered some cookies she had bought at Heathrow Airport before boarding the plane. Then, despite her desire to help others, she ended up eating all the cookies herself.

"The cookies represent any time we do the wrong thing instead of doing the right thing - or when people diminish us with words or actions and we "eat them" ~ It represents any time we fail as a daughter, son, grandparent, mother, father, friend, leader, or follower. All of us will fail and fail again. Remember, we are fallen people living in a fallen world, but we can't allow others to judge us as failures. There is only one judgement seat and it is most thoroughly occupied by the Lord Himself, who died for us...When others, by innuendo, impugn and degrade us, even if sometimes we indeed do it wrong, God whispers love and affirmation to our heart, if we let Him...

We must not think less of ourselves than God thinks of us. And one glorious day we will never do it again. I can't wait!"  

from "I Ate the Cookie!" by Jill Briscoe, Just Between Us, Summer 2009.

 

Australian books at CAJ?

An old photo of CAJ library

I really appreciate that we live close to a library, an English library. The CAJ library is a wonderful place where parents are most certainly welcomed and catered for. A little unusual for a school library. However, yesterday, when looking for biographies for my grade two son (an attempt by the teachers to get them to read different genre), I realised that the vast majority of people featured were Americans. Now I have no problem with my boys learning American history, but I just felt like a little balance was necessary.

Well, me, being me, voiced my opinion to the nearest American (who happened to be a friend). Actually we ended up with several Americans involved in the conversation. My friend asked me for five Australians I'd like to see biographies of (just quickly off the top of my head). Between my husband and I, we came up with these:

Captain Arthur Phillip (not Australian, I know, but he was the first governor in Australia when the British colonised the nation in 1788)

Mem Fox (children's author)

Colleen McCullough (author of The Thorn Birds and many other books)

Howard Florey (scientist, Nobel prize for work on penicillin)

Donald Bradman (cricketer)

Now I've had time to think (and do a little, not extensive research), I might add some others like:

Dawn Fraser (swimmer)

Margaret Court (tennis player)

Douglas Mawson (Antarctic explorer)

Edmund Barton (first prime minister)

A.B. (Banjo) Patterson (poet and writer, Waltzing Matilda and The Man from Snowy River - the poem)

Robert Menzies (longest serving prime minister)

Dame Nellie Melba (Opera singer)

Betty Cuthbert (Olympic athlete)

Victor Chang (heart surgeon)

Carolyn Chisholm (social work in the early days of settlement)

Nancy Bird (aviator)

Bert Hinkler (first solo flight from UK to Australia)

Fred Hollows (eye surgeon)

Ned Kelly (outlaw)

Rolf Harris (artist and entertainer)

Probably my husband would like to add some more scientists, but this is just a rough list.

Some modern famous Australians which non-Australians might recognise are:

Nicole Kidman

Mel Gibson

Ian Thorpe

Cathy Freeman 

Steve Irwin

Okay, this is a good one for comments. 

Australians - who would you like your kids to know about as they grew up? 

Non-Australians - which names do you know in the above list? What about other famous Australians, who can you think of?

Basketball season ending in relief

Life goes on despite my emotional ups and downs. 

This week we're celebrating the end of the basketball season for our eldest son. Being able to represent his school in basketball was something he'd looked forward to for years. However it hasn't been all roses and chocolate. The middle school boys practise at 6.40am three mornings a week. First it sounds awfully early, then it sounds doable. But in the end, it IS awfully early and he's gotten very tired.

He hasn't had a best season, either. Social skills don't come easy to our son and there are many social skills required to train and play a team sport. Not to mention just travelling with the team to and from matches on public or private transport!

Let's just say, we were counting down the days till he can eat breakfast with us again every morning. Tomorrow they have their last game of the season and while he loves the game, I think he'll be secretly relieved.

Come Lift Up Your Sorrows

This week I've been helped by many songs. One of them is called Come Lift Up Your Sorrows by Michael Card. This is a short clip from Youtube, though I personally think closing your eyes and listening isn't a bad option either.

One of my favourite phrases from the song is:

He has not stuttered, and He has not lied

When He said, "Come unto me, you're not disqualified"

You also might like this short article on his album "The Hidden Face of God", the album that the above song comes from. The article tells how Michael has discovered that the *lament is pure worship. Good news for all who've gone through difficult times, and who hasn't?


*Webster says to lament is to “mourn aloud; to express sorrow or regret; cry out in grief; complain.”

Mopping up

I've had some emails from friends concerned that I was blaming myself too much yesterday. Possibly I did, and I do realise there is fault on both sides. It really is a case of two vastly different personalities clashing. I trespassed over another's boundaries some time ago (as in the book "Boundaries" by Cloud and Townsend) and didn't realise it because my own boundaries on the same issue are very different. But of course the other person claimed I should have known. And the issue has only come to light because I made another blunder and they finally spoke up to show me the errors of my ways. Of which I have repented and vowed to do my best not to trespass on them again. 

There were many factors involved, which I don't need to go into here, suffice to say it is a complex situation.

I do value the emails and messages I've had from friends - reassuring me of their love, despite whatever my failures may be. That is so precious. Thank you.

To reassure you, I am feeling better physically. I slept well and my appetite is returning. I hope and pray that the other party in this unfortunate situation is also gaining some peace in their soul.

There's more to this story that I can share. The part that I could have missed out on if I'd built a wall and kept this pain to myself instead of asking people to pray for me.

An amazing "coincidence" (though I believe it is more of a God-incidence) is that this week CAJ has its annual Spiritual Life Emphasis Week. Part of that is the students and teachers have a daily worship time with a guest speaker (as a parent I am welcome). Yesterday and today I've been able to worship in English and been reassured that I am a "loved child of God" despite my failings. What perfect timing.

It gets even better. This morning I headed off to Curves to exercise. The final words of "Amazing Grace" surprised me as I changed my clothes. Then came "Nothing but the Blood of Jesus" and "How Great Thou Art" - all in English. Yes, everyone was exercising to a Hymn CD - a very lively one at that! I've heard another CD they have with heaps of "hallelujahs", but not this one (the founders of Curves are Christians, I believe). This is one of about two dozen CDs that could have been playing. I doubt it would ever happen in an Australian Curves gym, but it happened here today.

What an amazing worship session! But then my concentration slipped and all those bad thoughts started coming back, all the hurtful words I've read and heard over the last few days, all the guilt. But God wasn't finished with me yet. As I finished my workout, up came "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus".

On my way out I snuck a look at the back of the CD that was playing and wished I could have stuck around for "Because He Lives (I can face tomorrow)"!

Indeed, God is not finished with me yet.